Multicolor inking and application device



May 19, 1959 R. K. SMEJDA MULTIcoLoR INKING AND APPLICATION DEVICE Filed June 2G, 1956 y@ Mr/fg:

2,381,044 `:ivrurzrrcoLoR lNKlNG AND ArPucA'rroN;

DEVICE Richard K. Smejda, Milltown, New Brunswick, Canada p l *Application June 26,1956, Serial No. 593,943

l 1s claims.; (c1. 10i- 115) VAThis invention relates to the application of multicolor schemes to various surfaces. It is capable of applying a `multitude of- ,different combinations composed of colored and also possibly colorless pastes or slurries to reproduce any kind of scheme within the dimensions of single compartments, or sets of compartments combined to an identical effect. The great number of variations is made possible by the relatively small width of any individual color lcompartment which is of an order of magnitude of less than one inch, in any case rarely exceeding two inches. Usually there is one compartment for every half inch of printing width.`

`The numerous innovations of this invention include an exchangeable color container, spillproof, with individual flow control from each compartment section. The color container is removable from the application system which consists of one or two rollers. The top or transfer roller has the task of milling the paste to its nest consistency and to safeguard against tiny lumps which may cause :streaks in application. A system of ribs in diagonal direction may also direct the color transfer sideways and promote blending of tones from adjacent sections. The transfer roller is composed of many small rolls identical in width to the container section above. Various surfaced transfer rolls are assembled on a single core to handle transfer jobs suitable to the local requirements of a pattern. There may be for example bias and straighty ribbed rolls, heavy and light grooved ones, or any other surface solving a transfer problem. Rolls grooved in diagonal direction of opposite sense may according to direction of motion blend adjacent colors or separate them. The transfer roller applies a measured amount of color either direct to a surface or to the application roller, which may come in surfaces of ilat, resilient, absorbent, textured or patterned nature.

The whole apparatus may also be litted with a reversible double squeegee featuring a lifting mechanism which transports the application roller while reversing over any color puddle which may have formed under the scraping action of the second squeegee.

One object yof this invention is to supply a flexible application device which is capable of handling a host of viscosity valuesandV applying pastes or slurries under controlled conditions to a wide range of surfaces.

Another object is to provide control for production of blending tones next to sharp contrast in effects variegated at will.

Another object is to design for operating eciency and reliability. j

It is to be understood that the invention here disclosed is not to be limited in its application to the details of construciton and arrangement of parts shown in the drawings since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.

Also it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is used for purposes of description only and not by means of limitation.

2,881,044 Patented May 19, 1959 looking towards the mechanism mounted on the side plate of the multicolor application device,

Figure 4 is a corresponding partial front view of the lift over device showing the relative location of lever arm, squeegee, side plate; multicolor device, side plate and screen frame.

More particularly now referring to the drawings:

The container 1 is composed of individual narrow sections 2 which are assembled to the length of the desired Width of application. The top part of the container 1 is curled inward as a safeguard against spillage during operation. Each container section 2 has a slot opening 3 at its lower part which is closed by the leaf spring 4 when unmounted. When mounting a refilled container on the application system the tips of the adjustable screw 5 penetrate through the opening 6 and exert pressure against the leaf spring 4 lifting the spring 4 away from the slot Si` and permitting the flow of the contents onto the transfer rolls 7. By a turn of the adjustable screw 5 the leaf spring 4 may be raised or lowered to control the flow from each section 2 individually, once the ow is adjusted to suit a specific viscosity or transfer situation it remains intact through any number of mountings and refills. The container 1 is mounted in direction of arrow as indicated in Figure l. When removing the container 1 for exchange or rell the leaf spring 4 automatically closes the slot 3 to prevent spillage. `Foreign particles able to clog the valve system are trapped at the lip 8.

The transfer system consists of multiple transfer rolls 7 and the housing 9. The housing 9 acts as the support for the container and carries the adjustable screw 5, as

well as a circular top which complements the transfer rolls 7 closely and is furnished with a ribbed surface for milling purposes. By introducing an angular relationship between the ribs and the longitudinal axis of the housing 9 the flow of pastes and slurries can be directed as desired, The distance between the circular internal surface of the housing 9 and the transfer rolls 7 may be regulated by the screw 10 which lifts housing 9 and container 1 to the desired position. The rolls 7 of the transfer system are identical in width to the container sections 2. Individual rolls 7 are assembled on one axle 11 corresponding to the length of container 1.. Various surfaced rolls are positioned in strategic places to obtain the desired effects of transfer and blending or sharp delinition. For some purposes the transfer rolls 7 are sui cient as applicationmedium but where special demands warrant an intermediate or special application roller 12 will be necessary. The function of the application roller 12 is to create desirable surface appearances by means of different surface resiliency and structure as well as texture or pattern. The right contact between the transfer rolls 7 and the application roller 12 is obtained by selection of a suitable bearing head `13, produced to `ft` predetermined conditions. The bearing head 13 is mounted to the supporting sideplate 14 in a suitable manner. Transfer rolls 7 and application roller 12 may be connected by gears or pressure contact or belt drive. The application roller is usually set in motion by friction against the surface upon which a desired effect is to be produced.

assiomi For one specific application such as screen printing the device is equipped with a dual squeegee system and a lift over design to permit raising the application roller 12, while reversing the motion, over any puddle which may have formed under the scrapingV action of the operating squeegee. This lifting and reversing mechanism is actuated by the lever arm 1S which is at the linkage point 16 connected with a power source, either manual or mechanical. 'In Figure 3 a forward motion is indicated by arrow. The rear squeegee 17, which is in lowered position contacts the screen surface to scrape excess color deposits. On reversing the direction of motion at linkage point 16 of lever arm 1S, the lever arm 15 pivots around the axis 19 while the rubber insert 20 takes a lirm grip on the top level of the screen frame 2l. The axis 19 is connected with the side plate 14 of the application device. While the lever arm moves to an upright position the axis 19 is raised and the firmly connected application device is lifted from the screen surface. In conjunction with the movement of the lever arm 15 and by virtue of the linkage construction, the double squeegee 17, 181is relocated and positioned for the reverse direction of motion.

The following explanation describes the sequence of movements. As lever arm 15 is rotated about axis 19, it forces the double squeegee 17, 13 to rotate about pivot 22 and translate in a manner dictated by the two guide slots 23 sliding on the guide pins 24 embedded in the side plates 14. The resultant action causes the squeegee previously in contact with the screen surface to raise and lower the opposite squeegee into position in readiness for the impending reverse direction of motion. The lever is but one form of actuating device, an excentric disc, or cam, being other forms which can successfully accomplish the same result. Squeegee pressure on the screen surface can be adjusted by the design of the guiding mechanism, additional springs or weights or a combination of these methods. To prevent leakage of the excess color scraped by the squeegee a resilient seal 25 is added to the side plate 14.

What I claim is:

1. In a multicolor inking and application device, a transfer roll housing provided with at least one opening along the top thereof, a color container partitioned to provide a plurality of color compartments each provided with a discharge slot for pastes or slurries contained in said compartments, said color container being removablyy mounted on said housing with the slot of each compartment registering with the housing opening, a plurality of transfer rolls each complementary in width to a compartment of said container situated thereabove and mounted for rotation about a common axis within said housing, said housing having an internal circular upper portion on either side of said top opening which closely tits. the upper peripheral surfaces of said transfer rolls and being provided on its circular upper portion with ribs to promote milling and to enable directional transport of the supplied pastes or slurries.

2. A multicolor inking and application device as set forth in claim l, in which said color container comprises' a plurality` Of individual narrow compartments assembled tothe length of the desired width of application.

3. A multicolor inking and application device as set forth in claim 1, in which each compartment of said container is provided with an adjustable closure member across the discharge slot and means carried by said housing and engageable with said closure member when the container is mounted on the housing for regulating the. feed to the underlying transfer roll.

4. A multicolor inking and application device as set forth in claim l, in which each compartment is provided with a foreign particle trap adjacent the inner end of said discharge slot. g

5. A multicolor inking and application device as set forth in claim l, in which said ribs on the internal circular surface of said housing extend longitudinally with respect to the axis of the housing.

6. A multicolor inking and application device as set forth in claim l, in which said ribs on the internal circular surface of the housing extend in a lateral direction thereabout.

7. A multicolor inking and application device as set forth in claim l, in which said ribs on the internal circular surface of the housing extend in an angular relationship with respect to the longitudinal axis of the housing.

8. A multicolor inking and application device as set forth in claim l, including means for adjusting the distance between the internal circular surface of the housing and the adjacent surface of the transfer rolls.

9. A multicolor inking and application devicek as set forth in claim l, in which said transfer rolls are individually exchangeable and surfaced for selective transfer, blending and separating purposes.

10. yIn a multicolor inking and applicator device, a transfer roll housing, a multi-partitioned exchangeable container defining a plurality of individual color compartments removably mounted on said housing, an individually adjustable gate system for each of said container compartments feeding into said housing, a variably surfaced transfer roller composed of individual rolls fitting in width to the compartments of the container located above and mounted to rotate about a common axis within said housing7 said housing carrying internal ribs and closely itting about at least the upper portion of said variably surfaced transfer roller, an application roller adjacent said transfer roller and rotatable about an axis parallel to the axis of said transfer roller, said application roller being set in motion by friction against a surface to be printed and means connecting said application roller to said transfer roller for rotation of the latter in response to said movement of the application roller.

11. A multicolor inking and applicator device, as set forth in claim l0, in which said application roller is of varying surface resiliency, structure, texture and pattern.

l2. A multicolor inking and application device as claimed in claim 1, including a reversible, double squeegee mechanism mounted with its blades on either side of the transfer rolls to selectively engage a work surface on Opposite of said transfer rolls, a lift over mechanism connected to said double squeegee mechanism for selectively transferring engagement of one of its blades to said work isurface, means operably connected to said squeegee mechanism for effecting said blade engagement, said last mentioned means being adjustable to regulate pressure applied to the selected operating blade.

13.. A multicolor inking and application device, as claimed in claim l2, including a resilient seal adjacent the outer ends of said squeegee blades to prevent spreading of excess pastes. or slurries deposited on a Work surfacev beyond the width of the squeegee device.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 444,231 Brooks Jan. 6, 1891 1,675,442 Zeitinger July 3, 192,8 2,333,382-v Kent Nov. 2, 1943 

